Dark Descent
by Foodie
Summary: The downfall of Lucius Malfoy, is redemption possible? Part two of the True Revenge series. Complete
1. In the beginning

Author's Note: This is the second story of a four story series written by myself and my friend ElfFlame. The first part, written by ElfFlame, is called True Revenge and tells Narcissa's story of her unhappy marriage to Lucius Malfoy. This story tells Lucius' side of the same story. It will make much more sense if you read True Revenge first, because this story will come to mirror that one. The third story is called De Die In Diem: From Day to Day, and continues the life and times of Lucius Malfoy.  
  
Author's Note: This story contains minor spoilers and assumptions based on the series of Harry Potter books as a whole.  
  
Dark Descent  
  
In The Beginning  
  
Lucius Malfoy was home for the summer holidays from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. The 17 year old boy was enjoying the sun and sleeping in late in the mornings. This holiday had been more pleasant than most times he spent at home. His parents, who didn't get along well, were spending more time apart than usual. This meant peace and quiet for Lucius, and he loved it.  
  
  
  
After a few weeks, though, the arguments began once again. He knew it had been too good to last. These fights were louder and more violent than usual. He could hear the thumping sounds his father's fists made against his mother's body. He could never understand why Rowena never fought back, neither with her hands nor her wand. She just took whatever Janos dealt out.   
  
  
  
The cause of the fights was the fact that, Janos had introduced Lucius to an old friend of his, Voldemort, a very powerful wizard with many exciting plans, and wanted Lucius to train with him, but Rowena feared for her son and tried to prevent it. This made Janos mad with anger and he could barely control what he did to his wife. Lucius didn't dare step in between them, his father had beat him enough to know that he was not a man to be interfered with. Lucius had always hated himself for putting himself first before his mother's safety. It was a weakness he didn't have the power to overcome.  
  
  
  
One night, the fighting was unbearable to Lucius. Malfoy Manor was large and yet he could hear them from two floors away. Lying in bed, with an arm tucked under his head, Lucius heard screams and the sounds of objects shattering against walls. After an hour, he began to think about the safety of Hogwarts and how it would be much better there than at the manor. He felt sad that he only had one more year left there. He also thought about his father's friend and how Voldemort seemed to be everything his father wasn't. He had grown quite fond of him over the holiday.   
  
Usually the arguments had ended by now, but this seemed to have no ending in sight. There was a scream from his mother and a loud thudding noise. Lucius hid his head under his pillow, trying to drown out the sounds in his ears and the thoughts in his head. The noise ended and Lucius emerged from under his pillow. He remained awake for several more hours, riddled with shame for not going to his mother's aid. Slowly, he drifted off to a fitful sleep.  
  
  
  
The next morning, Lucius awoke with a start, still remembering the fighting from the night before. Janos would be at work by now and it would be safe to see his mother. Still in his pajamas, Lucius crept silently to his parent's bedroom to see if his mother was still there. There was no answer when he knocked on the door, so Lucius opened it and poked his head inside. It was empty. He stepped further into the room and looked at the damage from the night before. Glass and ceramic shards littered the floor, torn clothing lay on there as well. Stepping closer to the bed, Lucius noticed what looked like a hand laying on the carpet. His stomach fluttered with nervousness as he stepped closer to see. His mother's crumpled body lay on the ground, still, lifeless.  
  
  
  
Horror spread across Lucius' face and he felt that he might be sick. He knelt down to her side and shook her as though to wake her. "Mother?" He called to her. "Mother?" He said again. Frantically shaking her now, he began to scream, "Mum, mum!" He didn't know what to do, there was nothing that could be done to help her. He took her small body in his arms and rocked her back and forth. One lesson his father had beat into him very well was that Malfoy men didn't cry. There was a bitter sense of satisfaction as he rebelled against his father and allowed the tears to flow freely down his face. He held the body of his mother and sobbed for a long time before composing himself. Looking at her beautiful, still face, Lucius gazed for a final time into her coal black eyes that had always been able to reach into his soul, yet not this time. He gently closed her eyes and kissed her cold face before laying her down on the floor.  
  
  
  
Finally, Lucius stood up and walked to the bathroom that adjoined the bedroom. He made it just in time to be sick in the toilet. He washed the acrid, burning taste in his mouth with water from the sink. Then he washed his hands, he stood at the sink for an hour, compulsively washing his hands, staring dazedly into the mirror. He realized that his mother's death was his fault. He hadn't been strong enough to stand up to his father and now his mother had paid the ultimate price. Her blood was on his hands and he could never get it off.   
  
  
  
He couldn't stay at Malfoy Manor, not with his mother's body, not with his father, not with his weaknesses. As Lucius turned the faucet off, he made a decision. Running to his room, he found a pair of black leather gloves that he normally wore in the wintertime. He put them on in order to cover up the blood that he felt was dripping from his hands. Without packing anything, Lucius walked away from his house and eventually found himself at Voldemort's side, to whom he pledged his allegiance. 


	2. The Foot Soldier

Author's Note: This is the second story of a four story series written by myself and my friend ElfFlame. The first part, written by ElfFlame, is called True Revenge and tells Narcissa's story of her unhappy marriage to Lucius Malfoy. This story tells Lucius' side of the same story. It will make much more sense if you read True Revenge first, because this story will come to mirror that one. The third story is called De Die In Diem: From Day to Day, and continues the life and times of Lucius Malfoy.  
  
Author's Note: This story contains minor spoilers and assumptions based on the series of Harry Potter books as a whole.  
  
Fantasy101: This certainly is a sad story, and I'm afraid it'll only get sadder as we get to know Lucius more. But I'm interested to hear what you think of him as this story continues and concludes in the next chapter.  
  
  
  
The Foot Soldier  
  
Lucius didn't return to Malfoy Manor for the rest of the summer holiday. He returned to Hogwarts for his final year there on a mission, one that he intended to be successful with. Lord Voldemort was looking for willing and able bodies the fill his ranks. Lucius was one of the first members of his army, and was filled with pride at that thought. He loved the idea of helping to bring about a whole new world for wizards. A world with no Muggles or mudbloods, a world where wizards reigned over the entire earth.  
  
  
  
He started with his room mates, Crabbe and Goyle. They would do anything Lucius asked of them, and so were easy to bring over to his lord's side. Lucius looked within Slytherin House for more recruits. The 6th and 7th years would be able to help more immediately, since they'd be out of Hogwarts relatively soon. But he made sure to look at all the students, since the younger ones could help recruit more students, keep tabs on the professors, and be ready to help once they left the school in the years to come.  
  
  
  
He found one such recruit in a first year student, Severus Snape. He was a gangly child, dark-haired, moody, unpopular amongst his peers, just ripe for the picking. Lucius took the time to befriend Snape, show him just how nice followers of Lord Voldemort could be.  
  
  
  
Snape was eager to please Lucius, his only friend at Hogwarts, and a 7th year at that! Snape was good at keeping an eye on the professors, and reporting anything of interest to Lucius. In exchange, Lucius offered Snape protection from the students who would have otherwise bullied him. He assigned Crabbe to act as a body guard, and all-purpose protector of Snape. There were a few first year Gryffindor students in particular who tormented Snape, so it was up to Crabbe to make sure they were unable to do anything to him, which wasn't difficult, seeing as he was a very menacing boy that no one would dare to stand up to.  
  
  
  
With the important business taken care of, Lucius turned his attentions to his schooling. He put a lot of effort into his Potions and Defense Against the Dark Arts classes, knowing those were the most important for his future career.   
  
  
  
In his spare time, he devoted his attentions to the girls of Hogwarts. Over the course of the years, he'd had almost all of the Slytherin and Ravenclaw girls, and was turning his attentions to the other two houses for his last and final year. Lucius was a very desirable young man among the female student body. There was an air of mystery and power about him that they found attractive. The idea of being the one to finally tame him was what drew them to him in droves. Lucius was also a physically attractive person as well. As captain of the Slytherin Quidditch team, he was in great shape, which drove the girls wild. He had fun being with these girls, for a while, yet grew tired of them quickly and moved on to the next one.  
  
  
  
One girl in particular turned Lucius' head. Seventh year Gryffindor, Rachel MacMillan, who for some reason, he'd never paid any attention to in all the years they'd been at Hogwarts together, but now he saw as the object of his desire. The object who paid him no mind. Didn't she know who he was? And what he could do for her?   
  
  
  
Unfortunately, Rachel MacMillan had a boyfriend, Mathias Steele, who wasn't interested in sharing. Steele had been the bane of his existence at Hogwarts since their first year. He was a Gryffindor, he was captain of their Quidditch team, he loved all things Muggle, and always seemed to be besting Lucius in academics. But worst of all, he was a mudblood. How had he not known that Rachel was seeing Mathias? Why would such an attractive pureblood see a person like that? And what  
  
was he going to do about it?  
  
He had Potions class with Rachel and Mathias, and tried to find ways to spend time with her. He got to class early and sat next to Rachel before Mathias got there, so Mathias had to sit somewhere else. Rachel was always polite to Lucius, but never showed an interest in him. It drove him crazy. He brushed his fingers against her hand while reaching for ingredients, and told jokes that made her laugh. He thought he'd go insane every time she brushed her hair out of her face, which she did frequently.  
  
  
  
The year passed with no action from Rachel. Quidditch was winding down for the year, and Slytherin and Gryffindor were up against one another for the house cup. Lucius was very excited, he knew his team stood a chance against Gryffindor.   
  
  
  
Finally the day of the big game arrived. Everything was a whirl in Lucius' mind, it seemed to go very quickly. The only move he could remember making was flying past Rachel, slowing down, and winking at her. Before he knew it, the game was over, Slytherin had won! He was so excited, and happy, he did the first thing that came to his mind. Running up to Rachel, he grabbed her head and pressed his face to hers, kissing her hard.   
  
  
  
Rachel stepped back from Lucius after he let go of her, wide-eyed, her fingers brushing her lips. Lucius turned around to walk away and was hit hard in the face with something. Past experience with his father told him it was a fist. Mathias's. Mathias was on top of him, and somehow Lucius had fallen to the ground. He had pinned Lucius' arms underneath him, so he couldn't fight back with his hands or wand. Mathias gave Lucius a bloody nose and lip before Rachel rushed over and pulled him off Lucius. "Mathias, stop!" She shouted. Bending down, she held out her hand to Lucius, who took it and stood up slowly.   
  
  
  
Seemingly from out of nowhere, Professor McGonagall appeared, took both Mathias and Lucius by an ear and dragged them into the school where she proceeded to yell at them for quite a while before taking 50 points from each house and sending Lucius to the hospital wing.  
  
  
  
Lucius seethed with anger and humiliation while the nurse cared for his cuts and bruises. His friends and roommates knew Lucius well enough to stay as far away from him as possible during this time. All but one: Narcissa Black. She had a crush on Lucius and tagged along with him and his friends whenever she had the chance.   
  
  
  
Narcissa fretted over Lucius after the nurse had finished and left them alone. Bending over him, she brushed the hair out of his eyes, then sat down next to him. Lucius looked at Narcissa. She was a fourth year Slytherin, yet he'd never slept with her before, for some reason, he'd not wanted to. She was attractive, yet Lucius had no interest in her, perhaps because she had always seemed so willing to be with him. Lucius enjoyed the hunt, the challenge presented to him by girls who ignored him. They had dated off and on for the past couple of years, but it had never really led anywhere. But for some reason, he always seemed to come back to her, and she always took him back.   
  
  
  
Lucius politely made small talk with Narcissa, who seemed excited that he was paying attention to her again. After he was able to leave, he allowed Narcissa to eat dinner with him, where they continued to talk about nothing in particular. He walked her back to her room afterwards and gave her the thrill of her young life, kissing her goodnight before returning to his own room.  
  
  
  
Soon Lucius had to deal with his Newts, which he did very well with. Before Lucius knew it, school was over, and the prospect of going home to Janos loomed heavily on his soul. He'd almost managed to forget about his father during the school year, yet had nothing left to keep him from dwelling on those dark thoughts.  
  
  
  
Lucius' heart was filled with terror over the thought of Janos. He had buried the pain of his mother's death far beneath the surface of his mind, yet every once in a while, it crept to the surface, threatening to manifest itself in ways Lucius did not want. Janos could never know how upset he still was over Rowena's death. He was afraid of how he would act the first time he saw Janos again after such a long time. Part of him was afraid that he'd lash out violently against his father, but a larger part was scared that he wouldn't. He wanted his father to suffer for what he'd done, but knew he had not the strength to do anything about it.   
  
  
  
To Lucius' relief, Janos had given him an entire wing of the manor to have for his own, far from his father, far from that room, and those memories. Never a word about Rowena was spoken by either men, and Lucius learned to live with Janos again.   
  
  
  
Lucius continued his work for Lord Voldemort. Now that he was out of school, he was able to assume more responsibility, and relished every minute of it. He was one of the very first supporters to receive the special tattoo on his arm, he wore it with great pride.   
  
  
  
The harassment of Muggles was well under way when Lucius got his first chance to participate. He had never paid much attention to their world before spending time there, and did not like what he saw. For not having any magical abilities, they adapted to their environment extremely well. They compensated in fascinating ways, but Lucius hated all of it. He couldn't wait for the time when wizards could walk the earth openly, not hiding who they were.   
  
  
  
He never went as far as some of the other Death Eaters in their tormenting of Muggles. He couldn't stand to touch them, and so sated himself with things that could be done with his wand alone. He couldn't get his hands dirty. He had practiced the Cruciatus Curse to perfection and used that more than anything else.   
  
  
  
The first time he used the Avada Curse, he'd been nervous, for although he'd thought about it many times, he'd never taken a life before. But Lord Voldemort praised him so much afterwards, that he'd been eager for more, and continued to use the curse with more ease. Lucius would do anything if Lord Voldemort wanted him to. He was kind to Lucius when his father showed him only hate.   
  
  
  
Lucius began to resent his father, for he was the one doing all this work for Voldemort, not Janos. Janos had not been involved in any of this, and Lucius did not understand why. His father had been the one who had introduced him to Voldemort in the first place, yet was not partaking in any of the duties of a Death Eater.   
  
  
  
That first summer after Hogwarts passed quickly before Janos told him he had to start thinking about marriage. When Lucius married and produced an heir, Malfoy Manor, along with the family business, would be relinquished to him. Until then, he would remain under Janos' rule. Lucius thought about all of this apprehensively as he prepared to take his place within the family business, under his father's control, which would be celebrated in only a few weeks. 


	3. Expectations

Author's Note: This is the second story of a four story series written by myself and my friend ElfFlame. The first part, written by ElfFlame, is called True Revenge and tells Narcissa's story of her unhappy marriage to Lucius Malfoy. This story tells Lucius' side of the same story. It will make much more sense if you read True Revenge first, because this story will come to mirror that one. The third story is called De Die In Diem: From Day to Day, and continues the life and times of Lucius Malfoy.  
  
Author's Note: This story contains minor spoilers and assumptions based on the series of Harry Potter books as a whole.  
  
Wicked Lee: Good to see you onboard for this story! Lucius really has had a sad life hasn't he? You'll find out even more about it in one of the upcoming chapters of De Die In Diem. I hope you like this chapter.  
  
Expectations  
  
The ball celebrating Lucius' entry into the family business soon arrived. Janos told him the night before, he intended to have Lucius engaged by the end of the ball if it killed him. Lucius hoped it would. He met with many of his old classmates over the course of the evening, and had as much fun as was possible for him to have. There were many eligible girls there that night, and Lucius tried to share a dance with each one of them. While dancing, he imagined marrying each one of them.   
  
  
  
Bellatrix Black, who'd been in the same year and house at Hogwarts as Lucius, shared one of the evening's first dances with him. Bella was the first girl he'd ever had. He remembered that day in their second year, they had gone into the Forbidden Forest, because it was forbidden, and one thing had led to another...But he'd soon grown tired of her because she was a demanding girl. She also seemed to be somewhat lacking in the sanity department and Lucius didn't want to deal with that for the rest of his life and so scratched her off his mental list of possibilities.  
  
  
  
The next dance was with Helga Goyle, twin sister of his former roommate. They weren't twins for nothing, they looked exactly alike, right down to the monobrow and soup tureen haircut. The girl was huge too! She looked strong enough to bench press Lucius and three of his best friends at the same time. The thought of waking up next to that for the rest of his life made him consider joining a monastery, and so he declined to ask her to marry him.   
  
  
  
Betsy Parkinson was next. She was a good looking girl with chin-length brown hair. She was very attractive, with dark olive-toned skin, and a beautiful body. She danced well with him and he thought of the two of them dancing in his bed later on. But, he found out she was 19, older than him! That was unacceptable, and therefore, he sadly had to take her out of the running.   
  
  
  
Genevra Zabini was a pretty girl of 16. She'd been the youngest he'd considered thus far, and he soon found out why. Never in his life had Lucius met with such a silly, giggly girl. Whatever brain cells were in her head, they weren't being used to think with, Lucius saw as he attempted a conversation with her, and was met with nervous laughter. As soon as he could peel her off of him, he retreated to the far end of the ball, in order to lose her in the crowd. She was a definite "No".   
  
  
  
Quite by accident, he bumped into Narcissa Black. He hadn't seen her since he'd left Hogwarts and was overcome by a feeling of familiarity with her. They shared three dances together, talking and laughing easily with one another.  
  
  
  
Stepping out onto the balcony, they cooled off from their dancing and talked about trivial things. Lucius looked at her carefully. She was attractive, with long curly blonde hair and blue eyes that matched his. She was tall and slender and looked good in the black evening gown she wore. He figured she'd do as well as any other girl. They made a good match, both coming from high class, wizard families. He knew Narcissa didn't love him, but wanted the prestige that came with his name and position. He knew she was weak, malleable, and he would easily dominate her spirit. She was the perfect woman to be his wife.   
  
  
  
He had brought his father's engagement ring with him that night in case he met the right girl there. After a long and awkward silence, he made a no-frills proposal to her, which was just as good as she deserved, in his mind, and she readily accepted. After their year long engagement, the wedding day finally arrived. Their wedding had been rather tense. It began with an argument over which wedding rings to use. Lucius had no intentions of adopting the Black family into his own and therefore refused the heirloom ring offered by Narcissa, which had insulted her. Not that he cared about her feelings, for he had more important things on his mind, like his own. This wedding was not for him, but his father, and it would not do to use any other than the Malfoy ring that had been passed down through the generations. The thought of his father's displeasure of using anything else filled him with a terror that he knew only too well. Lucius knew the ultimate price of displeasing his father. Thoughts of his mother, Rowena, filled his head, bringing with them a sharp pain and sense of shame.   
  
  
  
The ceremony was standard and nothing out of the ordinary worth mentioning occurred. The long day passed into night with an agonizing slowness. His wedding night had been anything but memorable. He had been like a cat, torturing a mouse slowly before devouring it, while Narcissa lay there, motionless, with her eyes closed, waiting for him to be finished with her. He could have gotten just as much pleasure by himself, but that wouldn't have helped him in producing an heir.  
  
  
  
He could see the disgust in Narcissa's eyes after that night and thought it prudent to separate her from himself. He gave her a separate bedroom and kept the master bedroom for himself. He couldn't understand how she could have gone from acting as though she loved him to hating him in such a short time. He had made things quite clear when she had agreed to marry him how things would be run in his household. None of this should have been a surprise. He had also tried to show kindness in giving her great freedom in their relationship, for he hadn't entered into this willingly. As long as she produced an heir, he really couldn't care less what she did with her time, as long as she was discreet and brought no shame to his family name.  
  
  
  
He grew quite frustrated with his life over the years when Narcissa would not conceive. He acted out his anger in the only way he knew how, the way he'd been taught from a young child. There was no issue over how he conducted himself. Violence was just as viable an option for problem-solving as any other, and usually, much more effective. Even if it wasn't, it was quite gratifying, if nothing else.  
  
  
  
He remembered the first time he had hit Narcissa. The look of fear in her eyes sent a thrilling, tingling sensation through his body, from the top of his head down to his toes. He flexed his fingers, folded them into a fist, and then raised it to hit her once again. The rush of adrenaline that coursed through his veins every time he beat her became like a mind-numbing drug to him. For a few precious moments he could forget about the disgrace he brought to his family by not producing an heir when his father wished him to. He could forget about being so very unhappy with himself. He could forget about being weak and unwilling to stand up to his family and do what he wanted. He always caved-in to them and he hated himself for that.  
  
  
  
He probably would have stopped beating her if she had ever stood up to him, but she never did. For some strange reason, that made him angrier and hit all the more harder.  
  
  
  
But for all of that, Lucius had the capacity to love greatly and wanted nothing more than to act on that feeling. It wasn't that Lucius was a particularly cruel man, he just needed somebody worthy of his power. A woman who offered him a challenge to conquer and overcome. A true equal, but such women were very hard to come by, so he tried his best with Narcissa to find some semblance of happiness with her in the only way he knew how. He had settled for Narcissa, but had never stopped looking for that perfect woman. He knew that when he found a woman who looked down her nose upon the world with as much contempt as he did, a woman who's superiority complex rivaled his, he would have found his true soul mate.  
  
  
  
Some of the pressure was finally released from him when Narcissa had borne Draco. He was present for the birth and quickly took over as Draco's main parental figure. He would raise this child to be a proud Malfoy, as he had every right to be. He loved this child because he meant freedom. Freedom from his weaknesses, freedom from his family, freedom from Janos. Lucius was now able to assume full power over the family business and take it in the direction he felt was needed for success. He threw himself into his work and began spending less and less time at the home he now had full ownership of.   
  
  
  
Things went rather smoothly for some time until Draco's letter from Hogwart's School of Witchcraft and Wizardry arrived. Lucius wanted to send Draco to Durmstrang, but Narcissa, for the first time in their long, unhappy marriage, stood up to Lucius. She put her foot down, insisting that her son would attend this school. This so shocked Lucius that he gave Narcissa her way and allowed Draco to go to Hogwart's.  
  
  
  
With his son away from home, there was even less incentive to stay there himself, so Lucius once again threw himself into his work, and loved every minute of it. And he always kept his eyes open to look for the one person he knew was out there for him. It was just a matter of time until they found each other...   
  
TBC in De Die In Diem: From Day To Day. 


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